Vows
by Seductive Venus
Summary: Their vows will never be broken.


Vows

The sun was rising, spreading orange and pink and red in the sky. She got up and went to the window to watch the dawn. It was going to be a beautiful day.

The breeze came in and played with her longish blonde hair. She closed her eyes and savored the cool wind, breathing it in. The birds started to sing and she listened to their cheerful melody. It was if they were singing for her.

She woke up feeling happy. Her blue eyes softened as she remembered why.

Today, she was going to be married to the man she loved.

They'd waited too long, and now was the fulfillment of their eight-year-old engagement. Eight years… where had they gone? She didn't care because she didn't mind the years. Neither did him. They lived everyday as if it was the last.

She felt like she wanted to shout, to announce her happiness to the world. This indescribable feeling inside her heart filled her so, she felt like she would burst. She couldn't believe why she hadn't felt this before.

Maybe because it wasn't everyday that she gets to be married.

Kyouyama Anna smiled. Today, she will shed her maiden name to share her husband's name.

_Asakura Anna_. That sounded good.

She smiled even more widely and stretched her tired limbs. She hadn't slept much the night before, partly because of her nerves and her excitement. Even Kino-sensei had suggested sleeping pills for her.

Her soon-to-be husband was on the yard, sweeping. It was as if it was an ordinary day. She shook her head, smiling still. Sometimes she saw him like a butterfly under the glass, always the same. Never changing…

Perhaps it was his predictability and stability that comforted her. He was always there. If all else had failed, he would never desert her. With his same old comfortable smile and laid-back words he'd calm her. She would always remember him that way.

She leaned on the windowsill, cupping her cheek as she stared at him. Everything had changed but in a sense, remained the same.

He still looked boyish except that he was already a 19-year-old man. Same old orange headphones, sandals, and his white shirt that she'd forced him to button to save him from rabid fan girls… he never did change. And she hoped that he never will.

Asakura Yoh. The idiotic-looking boy she met on Osozorean many years ago. The first to call her cute and also the first to tell her she was beautiful. He was also the first and last love of her life.

He was the Shaman King, the most powerful man on Earth. In his hands he handled the communication between the spirit and mortal world. With her guidance and training, he held his position unchallenged. Asakura Yoh was lenient but he wouldn't hesitate to fight if the situation called for it.

It was also with this fervor that he protected his loved ones, especially her. He'd rather die than to see them hurt or unhappy.

In a way, he was sometimes like a child and other times a man. He turned to her for guidance and help in decisions when it comes to his duties, and touched her heart with his unchanging innocence and warmth.

He was also the first not to be deterred by her coldness. She'd built a mask for herself for protection when she was younger. Nobody dared to challenge her wit and authority and the world was easily overwhelmed by her icy defenses.

But he melted all of it down. He didn't mean to but he did. She took his hand when he extended it for her, slowly melting her mask until she discarded it. She needed only to be her when with him.

Asakura Anna, she repeated with a smile. And she continued to watch the sun shine on her future husband.

………………………………….

The day slowly wore on as the Asakura household bustled in preparation for the wedding. Everyone was busy except for the bride and groom. They were sitting together under a huge cherry tree in the sprawling Asakura compound.

Yoh was listening to his music while Anna stared at the sky. She had somewhat mellowed through the years they've been together. They were used to sitting together in companionable silence, content that no words were needed.

They had nothing to worry about. Everything was planned and rechecked to make sure there weren't any hitches. They didn't want to ruin this perfect day.

His head turned to look at her, ever so slowly to take in her pensive expression. She was always pensive but Yoh never got tired of watching her think so deeply. There was something in the way her lips pouted, in her knitted eyebrows, and the calm blue black eyes.

_She was beautiful._

"Anna-chan?" he said softly. It was his nickname for her.

"Yes Yoh?" she said, looking up to meet his dark eyes.

"I want to marry you."

She smiled. "You are marrying me, baka."

"Oh yeah, I forgot." And he laughed. His laughter was soft and warm to her ears. She'd never get tired form hearing it. "Let's do it now."

"Now?" she repeated.

"Yes. Here, I'll produce the rings." Yoh plucked two delicate little white daisies from the plant and fashioned them to resemble rings. Anna smiled; she rarely smiled with other people. Only with him, she could.

He got up and extended his hand to her. She took it and stood up right beside him.

"I, Asakura Yoh…"

"I Kyouyama Anna…"

"Take Kyouyama Anna as my lawfully wedded wife…"

"Take Asakura Yoh as my lawfully wedded husband…"

"For better and for worse…"

"For joy and for sorrow…"

"For sickness and for health…"

"Until death do us part…"

"Until death do us part…"

He slipped the ring on her slender finger as she did with his. It fit wonderfully and she felt that they could not match any of the expensive rings in the world.

Their eyes met blue black against dark brown. Very slowly his head bent into a graceful arc to brush his lips on hers. This wasn't their first kiss but it felt like it was. It was soft and innocent and shy but slowly it became deeper, more passionate. He'd sealed their wedding vows.

They would have gone on forever but they decided they needed the air.

They were both breathless, with ecstasy and awe at what had just happened.

"I love you Anna," he said as he tucked a stray strand of blonde hair.

"I love you too Yoh," she replied, her eyes speaking to his.

His arms circled around her lean frame and he drank in her fragrant rose scent. She was the only woman he ever loved.

_I would always protect you. I'll always love you._ His heart beat synchronized with hers.

They broke off as they heard Tamamura Tamao calling Anna. It was time to get ready.

"Now let's do it for everyone else." He said softly in her ear. She laughed.

………………………………….

"Wow, Anna-san… you look stunning," Pirika murmured, awed.

She looked up to see her reflection in the mirror. The Asakura family had insisted on a traditional Japanese wedding ceremony as to befit the Shaman Queen.

Four hairdressers had helped arrange her longish blonde hair into an elaborate shiromoku and headdress for four hours. She was wearing a pure white wedding kimono, symbolizing purity and severity from her old family ties. Her pretty face was painted white in the traditional wedding-style.

Blue black eyes stared at it, unable to reconcile the fact that she was in fact the girl in the mirror. No, that wasn't a girl. She was already a woman and a very lovely woman in fact.

"I do?" she said softly. Kino-sensei chuckled at her student's reaction.

"You do. I think Grandson would think so too," she commented, giggling like a schoolgirl.

Anna blushed. But nobody noticed.

"Anna-okami, are you ready? Yoh-sama is digging a hole already." Tamao said, poking her head in the doorway. She smiled as she saw the bride.

Anna nodded. There wasn't any trace of nervousness on her face. She'd dreamed of this moment so much she knew exactly what to do.

"It's time." Kino-sensei said and she patted her student's hand. The blonde woman gracefully got up and walked through the sliding door Pirika had opened. Then she proceeded to the corridor leading to the main entrance of the Asakura estate.

Anna's breath caught as she saw her husband-to-be. He looked tall and handsome and dignified in the Montsuki kimono bearing the Asakura crest. His hair refused to be tamed and fell in wild locks, as always.

Yoh went to her as soon as he'd seen her. She noticed that he hadn't taken off his flower-wedding band. Neither had she.

He smiled always the same smile but she felt better. Remember, his eyes said. He took her hand and held it tight. _We would always be together._

As they entered the shrine, the musicians took their cue and started playing. The actual wedding ceremony was witnessed by the immediate family members, in this case only Yoh's. But it didn't matter.

It was a beautiful ceremony, uniting them together in matrimonial sanctity and binding them in the eyes of man, law, and God.

The austere ceremony concluded with Yoh and Anna offering sasaki, small tree twigs to the Gods.

Today, the Shaman King was finally one with his wife.

………………………………….

It was dawn. She watched the stars disappear from the sky in the window while cradling her husband's head on her lap. Her lips curved into a smile.

"You're remembering." He said, softly piercing her thoughts.

Her hand continued to smooth his dark brown hair as she tore her eyes from the sky to look at him. She was still smiling.

"I am." Her fingertip traced his forehead, wrinkled by time, his nose, and his still supple lips.

"We kept our promise, always," he said.

She nodded, still tracing the outline of his face. Her feelings never changed. Just like a butterfly under a glass.

It had been thirty years since their wedding day. They had raised their children and they in turn were raising their own. They'd stood together in the face of problems, with their steadfast faith and love for each other. Their marriage had endured and grown.

She smiled as she remembered their first kiss, their sweet exchanges, and the first time they made love. Somehow age had painted the pictures clearer and brighter. Those were just some of their most beautiful memories.

Yoh sat up and let her head rest on his chest as they watched the sunrise from the east. Their hands twined together on top of the blanket.

"Do you still think I'm beautiful?" Anna asked.

He laughed, still as warm and nice as before. "Yes, the most beautiful woman in the world."

"I am happy." The same happiness from thirty years ago was still alive in her heart.

"Me too," Yoh said as he planted a kiss on her forehead. That lovely brow, wrinkled it may be, was testament to how she handled her role as wife, friend, and mother. Her blue black eyes still shone with intensity. _She was beautiful still._

The sun painted the room with orange and pink and red like it did many years ago. A pleasant wind blew in, filling the air with the sweetness of spring. She breathed slowly, in and out. Life filled her lungs.

"I love you Yoh." She whispered in his ear, softly, like a thought.

"I love you too, Anna." He didn't wipe away the tear in his eye as he kissed her lips.

Even for the last time, he wished to show her he still loved her.

Farewell my Anna. Farewell my heart, his heart mourned for her as she quietly slipped away.

They'd kept their vow until the end.

032505

Whew! In art, a one session piece is called alla prima. I don't know what it is in writing but this is similar to that. I wrote it down in one night!

It's been ages since I last wrote a YohAnna and it turned out to be a tragedy! Gasp! Anyways, I tried my best. I guess it really was meant to be one… I'll try to produce a more cheerful one soon.

That's all!

Kiss!

Aya-chan


End file.
